While there are certain standards of etiquette that apply to all funerals, the funeral process at a national cemetery is slightly different than a traditional cemetery. Knowing what to expect at a funeral or memorial service can make the process more comfortable for everyone involved. If you are going to a ceremony for a deceased veteran at a national cemetery, here is what to expect.

National Cemeteries Don’t Host Funerals

It’s important to be aware that national cemeteries don’t have the facilities to host traditional funeral services or open-casket viewing. Sometimes, families will choose to have a funeral prior to the ceremony at the national cemetery.The service that is held at a national cemetery...

Did you know that you or your loved one can receive Military Funeral Honors even if the funeral is not at a Veteran National Cemetery? Not only is it possible to receive these honors for a service held in a private funeral home and cemetery, but their availability for eligible veterans is mandated by Public Law 106-65.

What are Military Funeral Honors?

The most basic services included in Military Funeral Honors are the folding and presenting of the flag (often to the widow/widower or next of kin) and the playing of taps. This process will be performed by a pair of Armed Forces members, one of whom will be from the deceased’s parent Service.

If the body is transported, the flag will often be placed over the casket. T...

A decision often associated with cremation is choosing an urn that will hold the ashes or cremains of your loved one. While some people choose to have their ashes scattered after cremation, others choose to remain with their family in an urn or have their ashes buried in an urn.

While the word “urn” has come to mean any container that contains the ashes of a cremated person, the typical shape for an urn is rounded with a tapered base and a stem neck. Contemporary urns can take a variety of different shapes, styles, colors and sizes.

Choosing an urn, like all decisions associated with death and the celebration of a life, can be overwhelming and sometimes complicated. Here is a guide to help with choosing and purchasing an urn for your loved one’s ashes.

Factors to Consider

There are three primary factors to consider when choosing an urn:

Size

Material

Style

While your choice of material and style will be a matter of personal taste, the size of your urn will depend on a number of other factors.

How to Choose an Appropriately Sized Urn

Determining urn size requires knowledge of the cremated person’s weight upon death as well as knowledge of the urn categories available to you. A common rule of thumb is that you need a cubic inch of space within the urn for every pound of weight before cremation.

Urns usually come in four sizes: adult, keepsake, child and companion. An adult urn is sized to hold a person who weighed between 180 and 200 pounds upon their cremation. A keepsake urn is designed to hold just a small part of the person’s ashes, often used to spread the ashes among family members or different places. Child urns are larger than keepsake urns but smaller than adult urns—sized to fit a child’s cremains. Companion urns provide a vessel for two people who wished to be urned together, such as a married couple. These are larger and can usually hold the resulting ashes of a combined weight of 300 pounds before cremation.

Of course, when choosing urn size, it is better to be cautious and end up with a little too much space than not enough. Additionally, considering where you will put the urn might impact the size: ensure that the dimensions of the urn will fit in that space.

Choosing the Right Material For An Urn

Urns can be made of mostly any material, which can make this decision daunting. Ceramic or metal urns are more traditional, but urns are also available in glass, wood and stone.

When choosing the material for an urn, it’s important to consider where the urn will be placed after the funeral and/or memorial is over. If, for instance, the urn will be on a low shelf in a house with children and pets, it might be best to choose a durable material like aluminum or brass that can withstand bumps and falls. If you plan to bury the urn, there are a variety of biodegradeable urns available, as well. Cost will also be a factor when choosing the urn material.

Style and Design Choices for an Urn

The style of the urn can be deeply personalized. Custom-made urns, while expensive, allow loved ones to create any shape and design they wish. Artists can engrave messages on an urn, paint or tile an urn and even add photos, plaques and other memorabilia to the urn design.

All style choices will come at an additional cost.

Choose the Urn That’s Right For You

For those of us who will keep our loved one’s ashes, an urn is an investment. It is worth spending a little extra money now to ensure that your urn is durable, long-lasting and pays proper tribute to your loved one.

For as long as people have loved and mourned animals as pets—which is a long time—there has been a need for places to bury those pets. As far back as ancient times, archaeologists have discovered graves for animals that were loved as pets or even worshipped as deities. Here are a few of the world’s most impressive, historic pet cemeteries that demonstrate how important animals have been to human life for centuries.

1. Cimetiére des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques

For those of us that don’t speak fluent French, this famous Parisian pet cemetery is known as the Cemetery of Dogs and Other Domestic Animals. Located in a suburb called Asnières-sur-Seine, the pet cemetery first opened in 1899 and is includes graves for more common animals like dogs, cats and horses, and also more obscure pets such as lions, fish and monkeys. The ornately decorated cemetery is open to the public and was designated as an historic monument in 1987.

2. Ashkelon Dog Cemetery

In the late nineties, an ancient dog cemetery was discovered in Israel’s Ashkelon National Park. Archaeologist Lawrence Stager and his team unearthed about 1,300 dog skeletons, estimated to be from between the fifth and third centuries B.C. More than half of the dogs were puppies and the burials appeared to be individual.

There is some debate about terming this large collection of graves a “cemetery,” which implies that it was a sacred area for burials. Instead, many think it was simply a matter of local tradition to bury the animals and it was done wherever there was space for a grave.

3. Hyde Park

One of London’s largest green spaces, Hyde Park, is home to a pet cemetery from the Victorian era. Hyde Park was first founded as a hunting ground by King Henry VIII in 1536. In 1881, the park’s gatekeeper allowed a family to bury their dog, Cherry, in the park. Cherry’s tiny tombstone can still be seen in the cemetery, which is located in the far northwest corner of the huge park.

By 1903, the Hyde Park pet cemetery had 300 graves and it was officially closed. Today, visitors can pay a fee to enter the park and see the rows of little headstones.

4. Hartsdale Pet Cemetery

Built in 1896, Hartsdale Pete Cemetery is home to more than 7,000 graves and tombs and the same amount of memorials. The largest and oldest pet cemetery in America, it was placed on the National Historic Registry in 2012.Harstdale Pet Cemetery, also called Hartsdale Canine Cemetery, was established by New York’s first offical veterinarian, Samuel Johnson. The cemetery began when Johnson allowed a client to bury her dog on his apple orchard. After an article was written about this generosity, Johnson found himself inundated with grieving owners seeking a burial place for their pets and he gladly obliged. Hartsdale is now the final home of almost 70,000 well-loved former pets.If you are mourning the death of a pet, the Hutchison Funeral Home can help memorialized and remember your pet through pet cremation services.